Operation Date Escape

eyes. “Yes. Seeing you again made me realize how much I need to be with you, to share your life, to have your children.”
    Have his children?
    He fought the urge to grin. This woman was either certifiably nuts or on a mission.
    “Aren’t you going to say anything?” She fluttered her cinnamon lashes, a hint of mischief twinkling in those green orbs. “Oh, never mind. There’s no need for words.” She kissed him instead.
    The unexpected kiss had Cole rocking back on his heels. Damn.
    “Uh, Kelsie...” her spectacled companion muttered, clearing his throat.
    She ended the kiss and turned to him with a gasp. “Oh, Cornelius. I’m so sorry. I...that is, we...”
    “It’s all right ,” the other man said with a sigh. “I understand.”
    “When I agreed to go out with you, I thought I was over Cole. But now, after seeing him again, I know I’m not. Please tell me you understand.”
    Her date shrugged with a forced smile. “Hey, you can’t win ‘em all.”
    Cole watched the scene with interest. She was good. He’d give her that. But women like her were dangerous to a man’s heart. The kind he was determined to steer clear of.
    “I appreciate your bringing me here,” she said with a warm smile. “But there’s no need for you to wait around. Cole can take me home.”
    He could?
    He wondered if the ‘home’ she was referring to was her place or his, because after the kiss she’d just laid on him he was thinking she’d look pretty damn good draped across his bed.
    So much for steering clear.
    Her date rose from the waiting room chair. “If you’re sure.”
    “I am,” she told him, her flushed cheeks making Cole wonder if it was from the kiss they’d shared or from her lying.
    Or both.
    Her date straightened and met Cole’s gaze. “She’s all yours.”
    I wish.
    That thought struck him like a bag of bricks. No woman had ever gotten to him this bad. What was he thinking? He didn’t wish for that. Hell, he had enough trouble with normal women. And this one was crazy with a capital ‘C’.
    He released the little China doll so fast she stumbled back several steps. “You’d best stop putting pressure on that ankle until they’ve had a chance to x-ray it.”
    Her green eyes looked up at him in confusion. “What?”
    He nodded in the direction of her dainty feet.
    “Oh,” she said with a gasp, immediately shifting into what looked to be a rather awkward stork stance. Fighting to keep her balance, she finally gave in and dropped back down into the wheelchair.
    Her poor befuddled date groaned. “I really hope your ankle’s alright.”
    Cole placed his hand on the back of her wheelchair. “Something tells me she’s going to be just fine. My little Cupcake here is pretty resilient.”
    She looked up at him with what he knew to be a forced smile. “You know me so well, Stud Muffin.”
    The corners of his mouth twitched. Stud Muffin, huh?
    Her date pulled his keys from the waistband of his spandex pants. “Well, I can see you’re in good hands. Thanks again for a fun evening.”
    “Sorry it had to end this way,” she replied. “Thank you for bringing me here.”
    “ It’s the least I could do.” He paused as he walked by Cole. “You’re a lucky man.”
    Cole shook his head as the spandex-clad man walked away. Spandex? Really? He stepped around the wheelchair and stood, arms folded, looking down at Kelsie. “Stud muffin?”
    She looked up at him, her dainty chin thrust defiantly up in the air. “Little Cupcake?”
    He caught her by the hand and pulled her to her feet. “Come on.”
    “W...what are you doing?” she stammered as she grabbed for her purse.
    “I’m returning this wheelchair to the desk for patients who really need it.” He pushed it one handed through the waiting area, hauling her along behind him as he went. After that was taken care of, he led her toward the front doors.

    The automatic hospital doors parted as her hunky firefighter rescuer towed her outside behind him.
    “Where are we going?” Kelsie demanded, a part of her hoping he would say was he was taking her back to his place to play hide the fire truck.
    “I’m taking you home.”
    Okay, that worked too.
    “I ’m keeping my word,” he added, pulling her from her fireman fantasy.
    “Your word?”
    He slowed his step to bring her up alongside of him. “That’s right. I told your date I would make sure you got home alright. We wouldn’t want you to twist that ankle again hobbling home on